Alvirne football comes back to get a win over Souhegan

AMHERST - The Alvirne High School football team staged another second-half comeback, and this time, against Souhegan, it was enough.

The Broncos rallied back from a 21-7 deficit and held off the Sabers for a 28-21 win Friday to improve their record to 2-1, while the loss dropped the Sabers back to 1-2. A risky play call and a defensive collapse capped off an electric night for both teams.

Souhegan’s John Lohnes and receiver Trey Johnson used their strong connection to pick apart the Broncos defense throughout the night. Whether it be a screen pass, jet sweep, or deep routes, Johnson always seemed to be around the ball on offense. That was most evident on the second Souhegan possession of the game.

Lohnes, who found himself under a lot of pressure from the Broncos defense, was able to hit a running Johnson in stride for a 35-yard gain, which set the Sabers up on the Alvirne 5-yard line. Lohnes would take the ball the rest of the way on the next play to give the Sabers the 7-0 lead.

Although it was an impressive drive, the Broncos answered back and answered immediately. Alvirne’s Alex Giuffrida, who had himself an excellent game carrying the ball, pounded his way to over 40-yards rushing on the next possession, and capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 7-7.

Again, the Lohnes-Johnson connection struck the Alvirne defense for the second time on the following drive. Lohnes, after orchestrating another time consuming drive, hit Johnson in the back of the end zone for a 30-yard strike. The touchdown gave the Sabers the lead once more, and put an exclamation point on a strong offensive half, as Souhegan went into halftime up 14-7.

After a stalled opening drive by Alvrine, Souhegan took over at midfield for its first second-half possession. Lohnes, with two touchdown passes already to Johnson, hit the speedy receiver again for a 20-yard touchdown. The receiver tip-toed his way into the end zone to give the Sabers the commanding 21-7 lead.

But the following kickoff was returned over 80 yards all the way down to the Sabers 10-yard line by Alvirne's Grady Hudson, and Broncos quarterback Kyle Gora would punch it in on the next play.

The Sabers next drive was cut short with a crucial fumble that set the Broncos up with excellent field position. Gora gashed the Souhegan defense and carried the ball all the way down to the Sabers 5-yard line. On the next play, Giuffrida capped off the drive with another strong touchdown run. Unfortunately for Alvirne, the extra-point was missed, leaving the Broncos down 21-20 with 10 minutes remaining.

After a few stalled drives by both teams, the game would come down to seemingly one play. A stop on defense would have given the victory to the Sabers, while a fourth-and-9 conversion would have given life back to the Broncos. With two minutes left in the game, the Broncos went deep into their playbook to sting the Sabers late in the fourth. What looked to be a routine hand off, turned out to be the game-winning play.

Gora handed off to Giuffrida, who then pitched the ball back to Gora for a flea flicker. The play drew the Saber defense in, leaving them exposed down field. With a laser precise pass, the Broncos ripped the Souhegan defense for a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jamie Bertrand. The score knocked the wind right out of the home crowd and the Saber sideline, and after a successful two-point conversion, the Broncos took the lead 28-21.

The Sabers had another opportunity to drive down and match the late-game heroics of Alvirne, but came up short. The Lohnes-Johnson connection failed in the final stages of the game when Hudson picked off the Sabers quarterback with seconds left.